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Well, a martyr by definition is someone who dies for his/her faith.

It certainly is in the Christian tradition, and hence the English word "Martyr" has come to mean that. Not only that, but in the Christian tradition it also implies some kind of a choice - people choose to be martyrs for their faith. For example - someone who is offered the opportunity to recant their faith, but chooses to be faithful to their concience and is put to death as a result is a Martyr.

I had a look into it and apparently the word in Arabic (Shahid) which we translate as "Martyr" in the Islamic tradition allows someone who falls in battle against agressors to be one. It also carries no implication of choice - you can be a "martyr" by accident. Damn confusing, the same word in English used to describe two completely different things. In my opinion the difference is significant enough to be a mistranslation, and that we should use the word "Shahid" when referring to Islamic "martyrs".